Page 6 of Anarchy
Chapter Two
Emma
“Mikey take her inside, to one of the open rooms and then guard the goddamn door. Better than you guarded the fucking gate.” The man in front of me says.
I look over at Mikey, he's much younger than the other man, and I don't want to hide whenever he looks in my direction. He looks down at me before his hand touches my lower back and I jump from the contact. "Sorry, need to get you inside though." His voice travels through my ear resonating somewhere inside of me. His hand touches my back again, but this time I don't jump. My skin warms under his touch, and I let him guide me toward the building. "Don't look at anyone, just keep your eyes down and stick close to me."
I nod, but I can't stop my curiosity. Stepping in the door I see a large open space, a bar runs along one of the walls, and people are scattered throughout the room, mostly men. I see some women hanging around by the pool tables, and my eyes widen at the lack of clothes they have on. Looking down my long dress sticks out like a sore thumb.
We walk down a long hallway and stop in front of a door. Mikey opens it and gestures inside with his hand. “Tell me that you’re here with good intentions because I’m about to get my ass chewed out for letting you in.”
His voice isn't hard, and it doesn't make me nervous talking to him. "I'm here with good intentions, just coming from a bad situation." I offer him a smile, but he doesn't return it. He just stares back at me as if he doesn't know how to respond.
"Just wait in here, okay?" I nod, and he shuts the door.
Looking around the room is pretty bare, a full-size bed sits in one corner, with a long dresser opposite of it. There is a door off to the other side, walking over I peek in and see a small empty closet.
The door has a full-length mirror on it, and I see myself for the first time in a few days. My blond hair is all over half of it out of the braid that was always part of our required dress code. My pale yellow dress is dusted with dirt and mud, there are a few rips from when I walked through the woods. My black shoes are even worse than my dress, and all I want right now is a shower and a change of clothes.
The door opens, and I see the man from outside. He seemed angry that Mikey had let me in and the man who is now standing next to him looks even worse. "Sit." He says, and just the sound of his voice has me retreating. "No open is gonna hurt you. Need to talk to you though. Sit." He nods at the bed, and I step over to it before sinking down.
Looking past them I can see Mikey standing in the doorway. His eyes are fixed on me.
"How did you know where we were?" the man says with a step toward me. I look up noticing the vest he has on, most of the men in here have them. His has a patch on the right side that says, president.
"I had heard stories about my aunt, Lucy. They always said she joined a motorcycle cult and was living a life of drugs and sin. We had also always been taught about the original community and where it stood. My family was at the library one day, and I had looked it up. I found your name and thought that this must have been where she was.”My mind drifts to the moment I decided to run away. “If she hadn’t been here, then at least I had a head start.”
"Headstart from what?" he sits down next to me.
“The community, I can’t go back there. I know they’ll be looking for me. That life isn’t what I want though.”My eyes well with tears thinking about how different I had imagined my life just a few days ago.
He sighs and looks over at me. “What do you think we can do for you?”
“Help me. Take me in like you did my aunt, I mean at least until I turn eighteen. And then maybe—“
"What? How old are you?" the one from before says. He still sounds so angry, and I look past him to Mikey. He nods as if telling me I need to answer.
My tongue wets my lips as my words get caught in my throat. “Se-seventeen, my birthday is actually in a couple of weeks.”
“Fucking Christ.” The one next to me stands up. “Call church, we need to vote. Now.” They walk out of the room without a second look at me.
Mikey hovers in the doorway. “You okay?”
I look up at him unable to answer as I fight the tears that want to pour down my face. He walks over and before he can say a word I jump up wrapping my arms around him and resting my head against his chest.
He's taller than me, and I like the way his heartbeat echoes against my ear. After a few seconds, he returns my hug and the two of us just stand there. My breathing starts to even out as his strong presence eases my raging anxiety. I pull away and take a step back from him.
“Sorry, I just…”
“Don’t apologize. All good. I need to close this and stand outside though.” He pauses almost as if he’s waiting for me to object.
“Thank you.”
He offers me a smile before the door closes and I’m once again left alone here.
If they don't take me in, I need to get used to that feeling.
Being alone.
